Tips to Protect Your Furniture & Carpet From Sun Damage

Summer is here! After our cold winter and our cool spring, the heat and sunshine are “warm” welcome. We all know the ultraviolet (UV) rays will damage your skin and eyes, but did you know these same UV rays can cause irreversible damage to your furniture and carpet? While these UV rays can cause fading, there are ways you can protect your furniture & carpet from sun damage.

Practical Ways to Block the Sun’s Damaging UV Rays

Use window treatments to block out the sun. Drapes, blinds, shades, or shutters allow you to determine how much or how little sun to allow into your room, while giving you the added benefit of protecting your privacy. Shades and blinds reduce UV ray transfer, but their level of protection depends on how much light blocking they offer in the closed position. The more the light is blocked, the more UV protection you’ll have. Installing roll shutters on the outside of the windows gives you maximum protection against UV ray damage. Also, metal roll shutters provide security protection.

Add blackout lining to window treatments. The blackout lining doesn’t allow light to pass through windows and effectively protects furniture from UV rays. It can be added into drapery and window coverings during construction or bought as separate items and attached to ready-made coverings.

Window tinting is a long-term solution that protects your furniture and carpet, allowing you to furnish and decorate your room any way you choose. In addition, there are various window film options that offer different levels of UV ray protection. For example, solar window film reduces glare and fading by offering up to 99% UV protection; it can also lower cooling costs up to 30%. Another example is Clear UV Blocking window film that offers UV protection, but does not block heat transfer.

Your windows can help; there is window glass made to block UV rays while still allowing light to come in. UV-blocking coated glass can filter 95-99% of all UV light.

All of these options are practical ways to protect both your carpet and furniture. Now let’s take a look at some specific tips to keep your beautiful home looking good on the inside no matter what the season.

Specific Ways to Protect Your Furniture & Carpet from Sun Damage

CARPETS: The sun can fade the color from your carpet. Using any of the window treatment options – blinds, shades, or shutters – will help minimize your carpet’s exposure to UV rays and prevent fading. However, it is also a good idea to rotate your carpets every six months

LEATHER: Fading is a common problem with leather pieces that get too much sun, especially pieces that do not have a protective topcoat and dark leathers since they absorb more light. Drying occurs when heat causes moisture in the leather’s natural oils to slowly evaporate. Once faded, the only way to get the color back is to re-dye the leather and color match it. Once the natural oils of the leather dry out, there really isn’t anything that can be done. The best way to prevent the leather from drying is to clean and condition it about every 6 months to a year. Keep your leather furniture out of direct sunlight.

FABRICS: Just like leather, the sun can fade fabrics. Take into consideration the content and color of the fabric when selecting furniture that will sit in a sunny spot. For natural fabrics, consider cotton, wool, and wool blends. Fabrics blended with acrylic, polyester, and nylon are generally less likely to fade, while linen and silk fade quickly. Remember that dark colors fade much more rapidly than lighter ones. When choosing fabric, ask if treatments of a stain-resistant material are available.

WOOD: UV rays cause some wood species to darken like maple or bleach out like American walnut. If your wood furniture is going to be set directly in the sun, keep the top clear of any items for the first few months. If you have to place accessories on your furniture such as a lamp or vase, rotate the items around frequently. If any item remains in the same spot for 3-to-6 months, you will get a sun ring. Moving the items around helps to prevent a visible difference in coloration.

We at Love Is Blinds hope you found some of this information practical as well as helpful. If you decide to protect your furniture & carpets from sun damage with shades, blinds, or shutters, please allow us to come to your home and show you some amazing options. Please call Andy at 314-808-3440 or Contact us for a free design consultation.